Authentick Rule concerning it at all as I shew'd in my Admonition And when Proposals were made concerning it they were rejected by a Parliament of your own Party with great Abhorrence We cannot say they in their Declaration 1646 consent to the granting of an Arbitrary and Unlimited Power and Jurisdiction to near Ten thousand Judicatories to be Erected within this Kingdom and this demanded in a way inconsistent with the Fundamentals of Government excluding the Power of Parliaments The Question then between Your Discipline and Ours is Whether it is better to have no Rules but meer Arbitrary Power in Ten thousand Judicatories to exercise a Discipline inconsistent with the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom and the Power of Parliaments or to have certain and determinate Rules for the Exercise of it such as our Canons and Rubricks which are very consistent with the Constitution of the Kingdom and would certainly reform the World if executed and nothing hinders their execution that I know but Your Separation I cannot reckon it a Happy Progress in Reformation as Mr. B. does to throw down a well-establish'd Discipline founded on good Authority and with good Rules and Establish nothing in the place of it 'T is not Purity of Discipline to make it Arbitrary and have no Rules at all And yet I am afraid many are for reforming Faith as You have reformed Discipline III. Secondly in your Church Constitution you are not yet agreed and we do not know what you would have I observed that Mr. B's sense of these things is much different from yours both as to the Rules and Manner of Proceeding in your Judicatories insomuch as you are not yet agreed who shall have the power of the Keys Whether a single Congregation or a Presbytery Adm. p. 47. To make you a little sensible of this I will compare Mr. B. and his Parties Sentiments with Yours First then You own generally That a National Church is of Divine institution but Mr. B. and his Party declare Reflect p. 4. That such a National Church is not of Divine Institution and is indeed only A Combination of Churches as united under one Civil Soveraign its true Notion lies not in any Combination purely Ecclesiastical and Intrinsical but Civil and Extrinsical Secondly You hold that many particular Congregations may be under one Presbyterial Government Mr. B. and his Party That no particular Church shall be subordinate to another and That none of them their Officer or Officers shall Exercise any power or have any Superiority over any other Church or their Officers Heads of Agreement p. 11. You hold That it is agreeable to the Word of God that there be a Subordination of Congregational Classical Provincial and National Assemblies for the Government of the Church Mr. B. and his Party That Church-Councils are not for Government but for Unity not as being in Order of Government over the several Bishops Reflect p. 58. and Heads of Agreement p. 10. Thirdly You hold that Excommunication is a shutting the Kingdom of Heaven against impenitent Sinners But with Mr B. and his Party Excommunication it self in their respective Churches is no other than a declaring such scandalous Members as are irreconcilable to be incapable of Communion with them in things peculiar to the visible Relievers Pref. to the Heads of Agreement In which sense any two Men may Excommunicate a third It requires no Power at all to declare a Man incapable of Communion with me but only Judgment and so there is an end of Church Governors and Censures Fourthly You hold That those that are Ordained ought not to be Ordained again but Mr. B. and his Party teach That if any hold in case of the Removal of one formerly Ordained to a new Station or Pastoral Charge there ought to be a like solemn Recommending him and his Labours to the Grace and Blessing of God No different Sentiments or Practice herein shall be any occasion of Contention or Breach of Communion amongst you Fifthly You hold That Ruling Elders are of Divine Right and your Constitution so far as appears to us is founded on them but Mr. B. and his Party declare that whereas divers are of Opinion that there is also the Office of Ruling Elders and others think otherwise They agree that this makes no Breach among them Heads of Agreement p. 13. Sixthly You hold That the Ruling Officers of a particular Congregation have only power to suspend from the Lord's Table and that Casting out belongs to the Presbytery But Mr. B. and his Party hold That each particular Church hath Authority from Christ for Exercising Government and of enjoying all the Ordinances of Worship within it self Heads of Agreement p. 4. All these are material Differences and concern the Being of a Government and in all of them you differ from Mr. B. and his Party and only in one of them from us that is in the Fifth and then judge what Progress it is in Reformation to separate from a National Constitution to joyn with such that do not so much as pretend to it IV. Thirdly Your Purity that should invite Men to joyn with you doth not consist in Doctrine for in this confessedly you have no Advantage of us for these very Heads of Agreement acknowledge it sufficient as to Soundness of Judgment in Matters of Faith to own the Doctrinal part of those commonly called The Articles of the Church of England which we all Subscribe You then have made no Progress in this Point Fourthly As to Preaching the Gospel which is a necessary Mark of the Purity of a Church it is manifest You come short of Us the great Mysteries thereof being neither so Diligently so Constantly so Regularly or so Universally taught by your Ministers as in our Church nor so Good and Obliging Rules for doing so So that Men that would hear them taught in this manner ought to joyn with us as I have already shew'd Fifthly As to the Administring the Sacraments which is another necessary Mark of the Purity of a Church Your Ministers have been Notoriously Defective they have let many dye without Baptism that had a Title to it and have been no less Negligent in Administring the Lord's Supper insomuch that not one of them have done their Duty this thirty Years in Administring it often as Christ requires Therefore those of you that would partake frequently of this Sacrament must joyn with our Church Sixthly As to Holiness of Life you have no Advantage over us being no better than your Neighbours and if you take away such as are not of us as a Church but as we are the Governing Party and who will always Joyn themselves to that which is so I doubt whether you be so good There needs no more to convince you of this than to consider that Mercy Justice and Truth are counted by our Saviour to be the great things of the Law and you will not find that the Protestants in the North of Ireland of which You
Craighead p. 147. Whereas I never either in Words or Writings used such Barbarous Expressions or past such an Unchristian Censure on any Man much less on any Body of Men that professed to believe in Christ. But I can heartily forgive him and wish him no more harm than that he may be sensible he has wronged me in at least an hundred particulars besides this I do not think it necessary at present to take any further Notice of his Book This is sufficient to shew how truly he has represented Matter of Fact so far as he concurs with Mr. B. And as to his Reasoning Part I am content any one that reads my Book should read his and judge whether he has either truly represented my Sense or Answered my Arguments I am well pleased that you have it in print since by comparing it with Mr. B's you may plainly see that your Advocates are not yet agreed on what Principles to defend your Cause there hardly being greater difference in Principles between the Answers and my Book than between the two Answers themselves But the greatest advantage that I expect by it is That it will be a means to discover to Posterity how far the Learning and Sincerity of your Teachers were agreeable to their Reputation and Profession and what sort of Men have been followed by those that separate from Our Church THE APPENDIX CONTAINING An Answer to Mr. B's Objections against the Sign of the Cross. Sect. I. Of the proper Method to discover the true Nature of Sacraments as Signs I. MR. B. in his Remarks on my Discourse to you Concerning the Inventions of Men in the Worship of God has given me many hard words for not treating of the Cross in Baptism as I have observed in my Admonition where also I have given my Reasons for not doing it since it did not belong to the ordinary part of Worship which I only engaged to handle p. 55. imputing it to want of Candour and Ingenuity And tho' I had given him no occasion for it yet he resolv'd to bring in this Dispute about it because as he alledges it most directly concerns this Charge of Human Inventions in the Worship of God Rem p. 463. And that here The Dissenters particularly us'd to fix their Charge of Human Inventions against us This then seem'd to me the most direct and strongest Objection you had to prove your Charge against us and in which Mr. B. put most Confidence so that if this failed and had no force the rest must fall in course And therefore I consider'd It only and I believe in such a way as is fully satisfactory to all that Impartially read what I have said and what Mr. B. has Answer'd And tho' I might well let it rest on that foot yet there being several things in Mr. B's Answer that tend to mislead your Judgments in greater matters than the Sign of the Cross I have thought it requisite to give it a new and distinct Consideration The Sign of the Cross indeed I allow to be of no great weight in it self but if we consider that the condemning the Use of it is in effect to Condemn the Universal Church that has used it from the Apostles time that to make such Signs unlawful when God has not made them so by any Command is to add a Doctrine of our own to the Gospel a great Superstition and a Breach on our Christian Liberty And Lastly That the false Reasonings brought to oppose it are of such ill consequence that if they are not detected and exposed there is hardly any thing in a Church can be safe from such Cavils but the same sort of Arguments will reach to the most approved Practices If these things I say be consider'd this Dispute about the Cross will not appear of so little moment as some may imagine nor will it be safe for the Governours of Our Church to comply with the Teachers of such Doctrines lest they betray the Purity of the Gospel by allowing the Doctrines of Men that would make that unlawful in it self which God has left indifferent We can very well join in Communion with a Church that does not use the Sign of the Cross as the Apostles did with such as kept the Jewish Ceremonies and abstained from certain Meats But when any come to impose this on our Consciences as forbidden by God we must in such Cases imitate St. Paul who refus'd to give place by Subjection no not for an hour Gal. 2. 5. We reckon it a Liberty and Privilege of the Church of God and of all her Members to signifie the Sense and Devotion of their Minds towards God in such becoming Actions and Words as Universal Custom has made significant of our Thoughts and Passions in such Cases as I have already proved in my former Admonition p. 68. and shall further prove in this And for any one to teach this to be unlawful is to deprive us of a Privilege God has vouchsafed to us to impose on our Liberty and to teach such Doctrines as St. Paul condemn'd for Doctrines of Devils 1 Tim. 4. 12. For Forbidding to Marry and to abstain from Meats are there reckon'd such Doctrines because they make that unlawful in it self that God has allow'd and he has no less allowed us to express the Devotions of our Minds by significant Actions than he has allow'd us to feed our selves by all kind of wholesome Meats And therefore they that condemn the one as unlawful are equally Superstitious with those that then condemned the other II. To proceed then I desire you to remember that I undertook two things in my Admonition First To shew that Mr. B's Arguments against the use of the Cross were of no force And secondly That it was warranted by Holy Scripture I shew'd you that his great Objection against it was that we make it A New Human Sacrament and that then it must be A Human Invention But in order to satisfie you that we ascribed nothing of a Sacramental Nature to it I observ'd that three things were necessary to make up a Sacrament First An Outward visible Sign instituted by God signifying some spiritual Grace or Benefit which we expect from him Secondly An Obligation on God by some promise of this to grant us that spiritual Grace or Benefit when we duly use the visible sign Thirdly A Penalty on us when we do not use it I shew'd you that we ascribed none of these to the Cross in Baptism and consequently that it hath nothing of a Sacrament in it For it must be consider'd that the word Sacrament is no Scripture-word but the Church has taken it up to express some peculiar Institutions Rites or Signs which we find appointed by God and the true way to know whether we ascribe any thing of a Sacramental nature to any sign is to consider the nature of those Signs which we all agree to call Sacraments and to observe diligently and impartially wherein they agree
Psalms when the people want Books cannot read or have them not by heart Which has ever been the Case of many since they were first Sung But the same Scripture that commands us to do all things for Edification commands us likewise to use the Psalms as I have shewed and never prescribes or mentions the defective way used by you and therefore we may be sure Singing the Psalms by a Choir Reading them by Courses and Playing to them are not contrary to Edification And to oppose the Determinations of Human Prudence to these particular Precedents is to make the Word of God of none effect by your Tradition And is what I blame in You and Mr. B. as Teaching your own Inventions I positively declared that I did not condemn Singing Metre Psalms as unlawful but only your casting out the Prose intirely in your publick praises of God and preferring the Metre meerly on the strength of our own prudential Determinations as more edifying and fitter for a Congregation This I took to be a preferring your own Reason or Tradition to the Word of God IV. The same I say concerning Extemporary Prayer I never denied but Extemporary Prayers may be lawful nay necessary on Extraordinary Occasions when a man has not a Form ready or time to Compose one I granted that in this case we may depend on the assistance of God's Spirit as in all other cases of Necessity or at least hope for pardon of course to our Infirmities But I shewed Dis. Chap. 2. Sect. 3. N. 3. That God had Commanded Forms of Prayer both to Priests and People in the Old and New Testament That the Church of the Jews use a Form of Prayer in their Publick Ordinary Service that the Psalms of David are a Collection of such Forms and so are called Psal. 72. 20. And it doth not appear that any other publick Prayers were ordinarily used in the Temple and that we have many Precedents of such I add now that such Prayers are sufficient to express all our Desires to God on Ordinary publick Occasions which are constantly the same and if any thing Extraordinary happen the Church may provide a Form for it it being unreasonable that it should be left to every private Minister to impose what Confession or Petitions he pleases on the people or at least in such a solemn affair as uttering to God the Sense of a Nation or even of a Congregation a Minister ought to reduce what he intends to say into Form and consider it well beforehand that he may be sure that the Words are fit and proper for the Publick as well as the Matter I shewed further That there is no Promise in Scripture to furnish us with Words without this care and that the Spirit of Prayer promised in Scripture doth not include any such Gift either to Minister or People And therefore to lay aside Prayers by a Form in our Ordinary publick Occasions which are still the same is plainly to prefer our own Inventions to Scripture-precedents and our prudential Application of a General Rule to the method prescribed in several particular cases under that General Rule by God himself I grant Praying Extemporarily and Prayer by a Form are different ways of Worshipping God or Modes to use Mr. B's phrase who commonly in these cases shelters himself in some new difficult Word which many of you do not understand But I say We have only precedents for one of these ways in Scripture in performing of publick Prayers in an Ordinary Setled Congregation and therefore for you to lay aside this way as you do in your most publick and ordinary Addresses for Extemporary Prayers is to prefer your own Wisdom to God's If the thing it self had been feasible the method of Answering this Argument against Extemporary Prayer was easie nor was there any need of that long Discourse you find in Mr. B's Remarks or the hard Words he gives me about it The whole difficulty incumbent on him was to shew some Command of God in Scripture requiring us to Worship or Pray to him in a Conceived or Unpremeditated or Free-Prayer as he calls it or some Example in a Setled Ordinary Congregation where it was practised Till he do this his Arguments for the Usefulness of such Prayers and for their Necessity drawn from their being more Moving and more Edifying than Forms are only opposing his own Experience to the Precedents of Holy Scripture And it seems to me that only the itching Ears of people who love Novelty and Variety give ground for such Surmises But these are Vices against which they ought to be cautioned not to be cherished and encouraged in them as Mr. B. does Rem p. 163. since they are apt to cheat men with a false Devotion and are not necessary to a true one of which had Mr. B. been throughly sensible I conceive he would not have given me such very hard words for interpreting an Itching Ear to be an Ear that loves them or affirmed as he does Rem p. 101. That no Expositor before me ever dream'd of such a sence of them I wish he would consult a few more Expositors before he peremptorily determine concerning the sence of Scriptures He might have found Estius Alâ—pide and Galvin noted Commentators concurr in this sence with me and the Context as well as the Words where they are used enforce it 2 Tim. 43. For the time will come when they will not endure sound Doctrine but after their own Lusts heap up to themselves Teachers having itching Ears Which words plainly give two Reasons that move people to heap up Teachers to themselves their Lusts and their Itching Ears but Mr. B. would perswade us that the Apostle meant only one of them whereas the Experience of all Ages has found that the desire of Novelty and Variety has made Men ready to entertain Fables and False Doctrines as well as their Wanton Fancies or Various Inolinations as he alledges If by Wanton Fancies he meant any thing else than a Fancy that loves Novelty and Variety and if the same be meant by it then he had no reason to abuse me for a whole Page together for interpreting the words in that sence since he himself doth the same M. B. I confess offers some Scripture Precedents for Extemporary Prayer in publick Rem p. 36. namely Solomon's 1 King s 8. 22. Asa's 2 Chron. 14. 11. Jehosophat's 2 Chron. 20. 5. Hezekia's Isa. 36. 15 16. Ezra's Chap. 9. 5. Nehemiah's Chap. 9. 5. But these are not to the purpose they are all of them on Extraordinary occasions and in Extraordinary Assemblies in which 't is granted that Extemporary Prayers may be necessary Secondly They are generally the particular Prayers of the men that offered them and not of the Assembly such is Solomon's Hezekiah's and Ezra's Thirdly It doth not appear but they were all Forms written and prepared beforehand I take it for granted That the Confession in Neh. 9. was so for eight Levites repeated
year This he interpreteth Vind. p. 17. only of the most devout and serious which is very different from the Generality since if One do it the words may be true in the sense he gives of them but I have allowed as you see before One in Four of your Communicants to be thus devout and serious III. Secondly He affirmed 〈◊〉 136. That all of you have the opportunity of Communicating 10 12 or 15 times a Year if you will take the advantage of receiving it as often as it is administred within a few Miles of your respective Habitations This he interprets Vind. p. 19. To be Estimated from those parts where the main Body of Dissenters are to be found and p. 19. That he is not obliged to prove it concerning every particular one in the Remotest parts of the Province of Ulster As if the Diocess of Ardmagh Clogher Rapho Derry Drummore with a considerable part of the Diocess of Down and Connor were more in the Remote parts of Ulster than Antrim Carrickfergus Glenarm and the other places he mentions But I fully shewed in my Admonition that there is no Congregation in the Diocess of Derry nor I believe in any of the other places named in which the people may Communicate ten times a year without Riding 40 Miles which is very unreasonable to expect let them take what advantage they will Nor had I any intention to consine you to one Diocess as Mr. B. wou'd insinuate Vind. p. 18. I mean honestly and plainly in what I say and never designed to help out a Cause by Equivocations And as to those places Mr. B. has mentioned they are all in a Nook or Corner as may be seen by the Mapp and yet by his own Confession it requires 24 Miles Riding to attend them and sometimes 30 which are not a few Miles for the Generality of Country People being an unreasonable Charge and impracticable by many especially by Women and Servants who have as good a title to the Lord's Supper and are often as serious and devout as the Masters of Families This contrivance therefore of sending People from their Parish Churches no ways answers either in point of Conveniency or Order to the frequent Administration of that Sacrament in every Parish nor is Equivalent to it as he suggests p. 32. IV. Thirdly Whereas he asserts Rem p. 13. That it is Universally usual in every Meeting where an Ordained Minister is settled to have the Lords Supper Administred twice in the larger Towns every Year He now tell us Vind. p. 17 That the twice a Year in the Larger Towns was intended and is true of Belfast Carrickfergus and Antrim As if Lisburn Colerain and Londonderry were not larger Towns then Antrim and as if Strabane Newry Ballymenagh Ballymony Ardmagh Dungannon Downpatrick and many others were not in an equal rank with it And yet he has not produced any Voucher that this practice has been constant in these very three Towns or how long These and many such are the favourable Interpretations he allows himself V. But then as to us he is resolved to put what sence on our words he pleases and oblige us to stand by it Thus he will needs know my design in publishing my Book better than my self and oblige me to design it for the generality of Dissenters in England as well as in Ireland Vind. p. 6. Tho' the whole scope of it the Addresses in it my Management of the Impression and the very Title I sent with it to the Press For the use of this Diocess tho' lost there as the Printer must acknowledge and another substituted in place of it without my knowledge sufficiently declare the contrary VI. Secondly He will pretend to know the design of our Church's using the Cross in Baptism better than all her Sons from the Learned Hooker to this day as you may see Vind. p. 44. VII Thirdly Our Church in her Catechism in answer to that question What is required of Persons to be Baptised determines that Repentance and Faith are required Mr. B. after Mr. Baxter puts a very absurd sense on these words and then disputes against them alledging that by Repentance and Faith is meant present Faith and Repentance Vind p. 35. directly against the Catechism which requires only present Faith and Repentance in those that are capable of them But of Children who have a right to Baptism and are not capable at present of actual Faith c. She accepts a rational Presumption that they will believe when capable and an Engagement made by the Parents and Congregation under whose power they are solemnly declared by their Proxies and Vouchers the Godfathers and Godmothers It shews a mighty Prejudice against the Established Church and a delight to find fault in those that insist on such forced and disowned Construction of our words if we should deal thus with the Holy Scripture it wou'd expose even them VIII Fourthly Whereas I quote your Directory for a certain Position Chap. 2. Sect. 3. N. 2. meaning thereby that Book which commonly goes under that Name among You and whose words one of your own Ministers Mr. Craghead quotes as the Express words of the Directory p. 45. Mr. B. will oblige me to mean The Directory made by the Assembly of Divines for Publick Worship Whereas I meant not that part of the Book but the Directions which are your Directory for Private Worship as the other for the Publick and which being bound together with the other and with the Directory for Ordination of Ministers and other pieces do all commonly pass under the Name of the Directory and are so quoted by one of your own Ministers as I have already shewed Yet this he imputes to me as a very unpardonable mistake and repeats it again in his Vind. p. 23. I suppose every Body sees this is nothing to the matter whether that Position I quoted was in the Directory for Publick Worship or in the Directions for Private since both are owned and received by you to whom I wrote Therefore for Mr. B. to insist on it a second time plainly shews that his business is with the Person not the Cause and that he writes for a Party not the Truth otherwise he would not offer a matter the second time that is nothing to the purpose and for which there was no ground besides his being unacquainted with the terms used among you IX Fifthly Whereas I laid it down as a thing that wou'd be granted me by you that all ways of Worship are displeasing to God That are not expresly contained in Scripture or Warranted by Examples of Holy Men mentioned therein Mr. B. misrepresents my sense Vind. p. 30. as if I had intended by this Rule to exclude such things as may be deduced by clear consequence or parity of Reason from them Now I desire you to compare this Rule with your Catechism and you will find it expressed there in these words The Second Commandment forbiddeth the Worshiping
Members as questionable as the Title of the Pastor under whom they live with many other absurd Inferences contrary to the Literal Assertions of my Book which therefore he would perswade us contradicts it self But the World knew me too well to need being troubled with a Justification and tho' I had prepared one my Friends assured me it was unnecessary to publish it and I still am of the same opinion XI For I must let you know that I said no more in those Words than the generality of Protestants said before me Some in the same Words and the rest in effect and meaning even those of your party not excepted For I take it for a general Principle of Protestants That the Preaching of the Word of God and due Administration of the Sacraments are the true Marks of the Catholick Church and that a lawful Ministry is necessary to these insomuch that your own Confession of Faith tells us That neither Sacrament may be dispensed by any but by a Minister lawfully Ordained Chap. 27. Chap. 28. That the Outward Element in Baptism is Water wherewith the Party is to be Baptized in tâ—e Name c. by a Minister of the Gospel lawfully called thereunto And the Confession of the Church of Scotland has declared Chap. 23. That Sacraments be rightly Ministrate we judge two things requisite The one that they be Ministrate by Lawful Ministers The other That they be Ministrate in such Elements and in such sort as God hath appointed or else we affirm that they cease to be the right Sacraments of Christ. You see then from the Declaration of your own Party that a lawful Ministry is required to the due Administration of the Sacraments and without such Administration there can be no true Church and a Man that is not duly Baptized is not yet a visible Member of the Catholick Church though he may belong to it From these it were easie if one would imitate Mr. B's way of Reasoning to draw the same Consequences as he doth from my Words indeed worse and to argue that these Positions make every Man's Baptism as uncertain as the Ordination of the Minister that Baptized him and that every Church is as uncertain of her being a True Church as of the Lawful Calling of her Ministers And all those Questions Mr. B. starts concerning the Lawful Calling of Ministers and Governors will come in here as properly as he brings them against me but whoever should draw such Consequences from these Principles which are common to most Reformed Churches would be as unjust to them as Mr. B. is to me For in this the sincere will and endeavour is accepted both by God and Man for the deed and therefore neither the Assembly of Divines nor the Church of Scotland intended to make void the Baptism of those who out of the sincerity and simplicity of their hearts received it from such as they supposed lawfully called Ministers but were not neither did I ever intend to exclude from the Catholick Church such as either out of weakness of Judgment submitted themselves to Pastors whom they believed lawful or out of necessity when they could not get others to officiate to them submitted to such as they found settled And this I shewed to be my Sense from St. Augustint's Words quoted at large in the Sixth Page of my Answer to Mr. Manby of which Mr. B. never took any notice when he made all his Consequences for me tho' there needed no more to destroy them all XII But I must now tell you that this is no comfort to such as out of Interest or Passion divide the Church and heap up to themselves Teachers according to their own Lusts nor to such as knowingly or out of wilful negligence joyn themselves to such These I take to be the Hereticks St. Paul commands us to reject after the first and second Admonition and they are Self-condemned for the Church can condemn them no otherwise but by casting them out by Excommunication and they have thus condemned themselves already by their separation and I see no reason any one has to be displeased at these Principles except he be conscious that out of Interest or Passion he has divided the Church as I am afraid many are or think it a small matter to make such Divisions Or Lastly is indifferent whether his Minister is lawfully called or no as indeed too many are who are not much concerned how a man came by his Ordination so he preach to their mind But I suppose the best way to deal with a Papist will be to assert not only the Lawfulness but Regularity of our Ministry and I thank God we have done it effectually if Mr. B. could have done as much for his Party he needed not have gratified Papists tho' his Party at that time were caress'd by them in endeavouring to Answer a Book grounded on Principles which they could not Reply to as appeared by the event But this has always been the Method of those that separated from the Church so Tertullian tells us De Prescriptionibus Cum hoc sit Negotium illis non ethnicos convertendi sed nostros evertendi hanc magis Gloriam captant si stantibus ruinam non si jacentibus elevationem operantur c. The Sense of which is That those Separatists made it their Business to oppose and draw off the Members of the Church and set up their Petty Sects but did not joyn against the common Enemy XIII I must put you in mind that there are some Men espouse a Party and resolve to make themselves the Champions of it and when they want direct Proofs against their Adversaries they draw strange and absurd Consequences from their Opinions And though they know very well that those to whom they ascribe them detest these consequences as much as themselves yet they set them up as if they were really held by those to whom they impute them and endeavour by strains of Rhetorick and vehement Interrogations to render them odious This may take with such as are heated with Faction and love Books for ill Language and Violence but understanding Men know such Treatment to be only an Artifice to keep up the Spirit of a Party and make a shew of Reason where direct Proofs are wanting And that it is really a giving up a Cause to fly to these Arts and therefore they deserve no Consideration Neither should I have troubled the World or my Self to tell you that I hold none of the absurd Consequences Mr. B. fixes on me or that they do not follow from any principle of mine had not one of your Ministers that ought to have had more Integrity and Justice improved this Calumny on Mr. B's Authority so far as to affirm that I Held and Published that such as you belong not to the Catholick Church being without Christ having no hope and without God in the world All which he puts in the Italian Letters as if they were my Words Mr.
by the Christian at Baptism and that Name in the Primitive Church was entred in the Diptycks or Church Roll they were called by it to receive the Holy Communion and when cut off from the Church their Names were blotted out of these Sacred Tables or Rolls and therefore their Names given them in Baptism were effectual obligations and badges of their profession 3. I do not find any Authentick declaration of your Party against this use of Names nor any Authority Mr. B. has to declare your sense in the matter Your Directory orders a Name to be given at Baptism which shews the Authors thought it material and not meerly a civil thing for the design of the Directory is to order the worship of God and there was no reason for them to appoint a civil Ceremony in so material a part of Gods worship as Baptism is Mr. B. says that it is that the Person may be Notifyed to the Congregation that is that they may distinguish him to be the Person that was Baptised Now that which distinguishes and makes it known through his whole Life that he is a member of Christ is surely a badge of his profession and obliges him to do nothing unworthy of it You call the Name you receive at Baptism your Christian Name and as your Surnames shew your Family so your Christian Names shew your Profession I may add to this that some of your party have been very nice in giving Names and have called their Children by such Names as they thought wou'd most likely put them in mind of their Duty to God and oblige them to perform it thus some called their Children Grace Charity Prudence Faithfull Praise God to what purpose but to be a Badge Token Memorial and Obligation to them to practise these Graces Lastly the Notes of the Assembly on Gen. 17. 5. Observe on God's giving Abraham a Name that some take the giving of a new Name to note a Sacramental Renovation in the new sence of Circumcision which now was first added to the Covenant and thence hath it been the Practice of such as profess Religion to give Names to their Children at their Circumcision upon which they pass no censure And Mr. Ainsworth for whom I suppose you likewise have a value has this Observation on it Abraham is the first Man in the World whose Name is changed of God And it signified a change of Estate and a renewing with increase of Grace from God therefore this is after mentioned as one of his Favours Neh. 9. 7. So Jacob's Name is made new Gen. 32. 28. and all true Christians Esay 62. 2. Rev. 2. 17. So that what I said concerning giving of a Name to your Children and particularly God's giving one to Abraham is not suggested by my own Fancy as Mr. B. alledgeth I wish he would adhere to the literal sence of Scripture and the best Commentators as I am assured I endeavour to do But secondly he objects that if this were true then this is a Scriptural Warrant for giving Names to Children at Baptism as a token of their admission into Gods Family Vind. p. 53. and then it is a Ceremony of Gods own appointment To which I answer that this is a full proof that a Sign appointed by God to signifie our admission into his Family of giving up our names to him and engaging to be his Servants is no Sacrament and then it follows that it is so far from being a principal use of a Sacrament to be a binding Sign only that on the contrary it is no proper or peculiar use of it at all but common to other Signs and then our using the Sign of the Cross for an obliging Sign on our parts is not to ascribe any thing of a Sacramental nature to it From the whole I suppose it fully appears both from Scripture and your own practice that we may use some other Signs besides the Sacraments to Oblige Ratify and Confirm our Covenant with God and bind our selves to his service and that our doing so doth not make those Signs Humane Sacraments And I desire you to remember that the whole design of our using the Sign of the Cross is onely to declare and testify to the World that we look on our selves as persons thus Bound obliged and dedicated to Gods service and that we are resolved not to decline that Service or be ashamed of it for any danger or infamy that may attend it tho' it should expose us as it did our Saviour to the painful and shameful death of the Cross. To Bind Oblige and Dedicate our selves to Gods service are properly acts of our minds all that outward Signs can do is to declare and express these inward Acts and surely there cannot be any outward Action that more properly or naturally doth declare our resolution and purpose to dedicate our selves to the service of a Crucifyed Saviour than making the Sign of the Cross if then it be lawful as I have proved both from Scripture and your own practice to express and declare these Acts of our minds by other Signs than the Sacraments our using the Sign of the Cross to this purpose can never make it a new Sacrament or unlawful Sect. VI. Concerning Distinguishing Signs I. I Shall now proceed to the Third sort of Signs which Mr. B. mentions which he calls Distinguishing I have shew'd you That these may be of two Sorts and come under the Seventh and Eighth Considerations of Signs as I have laid them down Sect. 3. of this Appendix The Seventh is That a Sign may be called Distinguishing because it signifies and conveys to us some Privilege or Benefit which effectually distinguisheth us from the rest of the World and obliges others to own us as so privileged Thus the King's Patent to a Noble-man distinguisheth him and obliges others to take notice of him And thus the Regenerating Principle of Grace convey'd to us in Baptism makes an effectual distinction of Christians from other Men and the Privileges convey'd to us thereby oblige all other Christians to own us as Fellow-members and Heirs of the same Hope with themselves And thus the Lords Supper doth likewise distinguish us by communicating to us the Body and Blood of our Saviour by which our Union with Christ is preserved and encreased and the Graces and Privileges received in Baptism are renew'd strengthen'd and confirmed to us I grant therefore that the Sacraments are Distinguishing Signs in this sense and this use of them is plainly contained under the first thing that I shewed to be necessary to make them up that is an outward and visible Sign instituted by God signifying some spiritual Grace or Benefit which we expect from Him Such an inward and spiritual Grace or Benefit granted to us in the Sacraments doth indeed Distinguish us from all others and entitle us to the Privileges of Children and the Sacraments are Conveyances and Badges of that Grace or Privilege as much as the King's Patent is of